world of men's style / fashion / grooming

An UrbanDaddy Publication

02/20/2009

Fear & Loathing in Menswear

Rag & Bone

Kempt compatriot and American hero Michael Williams (better known as the man behind A Continuous Lean) is out in Vegas for the Project trade show. Things got a bit weird, but he managed to file the following dispatch for Kempt. Godspeed, Michael!

Being in the apparel business, coming to Las Vegas trade shows are a necessary evil. The adventure begins at the airport when you see twenty people you know load in to what is endearingly referred to as the "garmento express," a plane where you can't walk to the bathroom without hearing someone say "feel this quality." Once you arrive and get yourself settled in, the ping pinging of the slot machines gives way to the soft embrace of convention center fluorescent lights.

This season — for obvious reasons — the shows were more subdued than normal. Most of the over-the-top promotions and booths have been toned down to reflect a more conservative mood of buyers and vendors. That is except for the people at Christian Audigier, who apparently couldn't get enough space from the Project Show to showcase their ever-growing stable of logo-driven-studded-garbage. So Audigier did what any normal brand would do, it launched its own entire show, humbly titled "When I Move You Move." This new show had the added side-effect of containing most of the horrible product, like a fashion Yucca Mountain, all together in one secure location. We did manage to find some cool people and good looking product here and there. Add in some Miller High Life and IN-N-OUT burgers, and our mission was a success.